Magical Mishap
by Krankinator
Summary: The story of Arthur, Merlin, and two little magical mistakes. Emphasis on the 'little'.
1. It started with a 'BANG'

This short story was inspired by Lilybells and her wonderful chibi!series on Tumblr! Please take the time to check out her art because you will literally be lost in chibi adorableness for hours. Enjoy!

* * *

Arthur heard the explosion before he felt it.

He was seated at his desk in his chambers, shuffling through his mountain of parchments looking for one in particular, when a loud bang sounded from a distance, followed by a slight tremble in the floor. He jumped up, immediately turning to his window only to see the villagers in the town below going about their business, completely undisturbed.

Arthur sighed, letting his nerves calm as the possibility of an attack fled his mind. However, he quickly determined that the only other explanation was the explosion happened from within the walls of the castle.

"Merlin."

As Arthur approached the physician's chambers, that also held his bumbling Court Sorcerer, he was stopped by a high-pitched shriek.

"_I said unhand me, you beast!"_

Arthur decided to remain in the corridor, listening intently through the wood to hopefully determine what exactly was going on.

"_Wha-? I… I don't understand… What are you?"_

That was undoubtedly Merlin's voice, stumbling through a sentence. Typical.

"_My name is Merlin."_

It was the softest of voices, like tinkling bells in a slight breeze. It sent a small chill down Arthur's spine. Then, another squeal:

"_I am King Arthur of Camelot! Don't come any closer or I will –"_

Arthur swung the sturdy wooden door open, finger raised, ready for some words, and then stopped. Merlin stood, looking completely bewildered, by Gaius' workbench. The only problem was, he was also completely alone.

"Who… what's going on? I heard voices!"

"Arthur!" Merlin almost wheezed. He looked absolutely terrified.

"Whom were you talking to? What was that explosion? I swear if you've done something as bad as last time, you –"

"I WILL NOT BE IGNORED!"

Arthur was cut off mid-sentence by another loud shriek, similar to what he heard before, only much louder. He spun around on the spot, looking for the owner of the voice. As he turned once more towards Merlin, the sunlight reflected sharply off of something on the workbench. He stalked over.

"Arthur, wait –"

Arthur came to a halt beside his former manservant. He looked down at the table and his breath was immediately stolen from his lungs.

There, standing among various potion bottles, mortars, pestles, and powders, was a miniature version of himself. Only he was roughly the size of a baby chicken. And just as round. His head was large, but Arthur could clearly see the blond hair – _his own_ blond hair – and adorning him was miniature, intricately crafted chainmail and armor, complete with little brown leather boots. This small little creature's eyes were not blue, though, but instead were black and beady, with a mischievous sparkle in them.

"STAY BACK, YOU GIANT BEAST!"

A sword no longer than Arthur's own pinky was waved through the air.

"I… Um –"

"Arthur, stop it!" The little tinkling of bells was heard again and it was then that Arthur noticed the tiny little mini-Merlin seated on a cork just a short distance away. He swung his stubby little legs, wearing a brown jacket and a bright red neckerchief, identical to what Merlin used to wear during his days as Arthur's manservant. Even his tiny little ears stood out predominantly. "These people will not harm us… They _are _us!"

Arthur turned to 'Big-Merlin' beside him, noticing his unusual silence throughout this entire encounter. He cleared his throat.

"Care to explain this lovely little surprise, Merlin?" He asked, leaning against the workbench.

Merlin swallowed hard. "Well, you see, I was sort of trying to… copy things."

"_Copy things_?" Arthur repeated.

"Yes. You know, making two of something. I was going to try it with Ralph, the dog from the stables. I had what I thought were some of his hairs and everything! In reality, though… Well, I guess it was _your_ hair. And maybe some of mine."

"You made copies of _us_? You made tiny, little, _round _versions of us? That _thing_ is nothing like me – Ow!"

Arthur jumped back from the table as he felt a sharp pain erupt in his bottom. He turned to see Mini-Arthur, sword at the ready, with a completely satisfied look on his face. Behind him, Mini-Merlin flopped back down on his cork with a sigh.

Big-Merlin chuckled. "You're actually more similar than you think."


	2. Followed by a sneeze

As much as Arthur wanted to stand around and bond with Camelot's accidental new guests, he was still the King.

"Merlin, a reminder that there is still a council meeting taking place this evening," Arthur called as he turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Merlin asked as he poked the miniature Arthur in the breastplate, causing Little Merlin to giggle.

"Unlike you, I have work to do, Merlin. This city is not going to run itself!" Arthur left in a flourish, every bit the royal that he was.

Merlin was now left alone with his magical mistakes. He sat himself on a bench facing the table, watching as the two little beings interacted with each other. Arthur, still in his full suit of armor, clunked around, carefully inspecting all of the contents of the table.

Merlin couldn't help but see the obvious resemblance between the little Arthur he was currently observing, and, well… _his_ Arthur, to be so bold. They were both completely unafraid of anything. They were confident, and both walked around with that air of superiority. Sure, Big Arthur had come a long way during Merlin's years of service, but in the end he was still a royal prat.

Turning his attention to his own miniature self, he frowned as he saw big, round eyes go gold and the herbs on the workbench start to dance around the tiny figure. Little Merlin watched in wonder, waving his tiny arms in the air as he completed such a simple little spell. Merlin was almost embarrassed. He wasn't honestly like that, was he? Surely he didn't just go around, playing with his magic for sheer entertainment purposes… Surely.

Well, maybe he sort of did.

Little Arthur, sword finally sheathed, was working on moving a cork over to Little Merlin's cork. Once it was close enough, he flopped down on it. Little Merlin smiled at him and took his hand.

Well now. That was an interesting turn of events.

"Do you care about each other?" Merlin found himself asking the pair. He rested his elbow on his knee and propped his chin on his hand.

"Of course!" Little Arthur blurted, almost looking offended.

"I would do anything for Arthur. He's my most important person!" Little Merlin almost glowed. "Don't you feel the same?" His tiny little voice was disgustingly cute.

"Well, I wouldn't go as far as to say _that_, really…" Merlin became flustered. "I mean, he's the King and, you know… Are you guys hungry?"

"I am starved!" Little Arthur exclaimed, rubbing his front. Little Merlin jumped up.

"I will go to the kitchens!" He walked to the edge of the table and looked down. He pushed up his sleeves and crouched as if to jump.

"NO!" Merlin shouted, standing up so suddenly that Little Merlin fell right over on to his bottom. "That jump would kill you! Besides, it would take you about a day and half to make it to the palace kitchens with those legs."

"What's wrong with my legs?" Little Merlin looked down at himself, confused.

"It doesn't matter. Look, I've got perfectly good food right here in this room." As Merlin got to work on cutting up some fruit and bread in to small digestible pieces, Little Merlin sat down on his cork again.

He continued to look critically at his stubby little legs.

Out of the corner of his eye, Merlin saw Little Arthur reach over and place a comforting hand on Little Merlin's knee.

"I think your legs are just perfect."

* * *

Merlin squirmed as he listened to one of the Lords drone on about Camelot's financial standings. He was seated at the Round Table, accompanied by the council, which now included Leon, Gwaine, Percival and Elyan. It usually lightened up the entire council meeting experience, but this evening was different.

Merlin had agreed to let Little Merlin and Arthur act as stowaways inside of his quilted coat. It was proving to be a bad idea. At least Little Arthur was now clad solely in his gambeson and pants.

"_Merlin stop kicking me!"_

"_Sorry!"_

Merlin coughed to cover up the hushed whispers coming from his clothing. Beside him Arthur shifted in his chair.

Everything was going rather smoothly until Merlin leaned against the arm of his chair. His belt moved with him, causing Little Arthur to roll until he was settled against Merlin's right side. Merlin was rather ticklish there.

"Oh!" Merlin jumped in his seat, wiggling around to try and shift Little Arthur back to where he was. He had now gained the attention of the entire council. "Sorry. Cramp."

He heard Gwaine snicker and the rest of the Knights were grinning. He could feel Arthur blatantly staring at him, now completely aware of what was going on under the fabric of Merlin's jacket. Merlin relaxed, though, and the meeting continued.

Well, until Little Merlin sneezed.

It was quite loud, and was comparable in pitch to the scream of a banshee.

The council chambers were once again silent. The Lords were looking rather taxed, while the Knights were doing all they could to keep it together. Arthur, on the other hand, was seething.

"_Merlin_, what in the hell –"

"Oh my!" Merlin placed a hand to his chest, clearing his throat. "I must be coming down with something." He looked to Arthur, trying hard not to laugh. Then, his eyes swept the room. "If you'll excuse me, gentlemen."

He walked awkwardly from the room, trying to act as if there weren't two tiny people nestled against his stomach. When he was safely out in to the corridor, he sighed and undid a couple of his buttons. Little Merlin and Arthur stared up at him.

"I'm very sorry," Little Merlin's voice tinkled.

"Nonsense! If you get me out meetings like that, I'll take you with me everywhere." The two little counterparts grinned and Merlin began his journey back to his chambers. Little Merlin and Arthur both tried to poke their heads out of his jacket to watch the scenery.

"_Merlin, your head is huge!"_

"_Arthur our heads are the same size!"_

"_Maybe I could ride on his shoulder!"_

"_Hey! I want to ride on his shoulder. He is _me_, after all."_

"_Merlin, I am your King!"_

"_You're a dollop head."_

"_But you said you liked that about me."_

"_I did, but that is completely beside the point."_


	3. Accompanied with a shout

Chibi 3

"_MERLIN!"_

"I swear - it's as if a normal voice level simply doesn't exist with him." Merlin sighed and slurped more of the soup he had made.

"It really doesn't," Little Merlin heaved a delicate sigh as well, bringing his halved walnut shell to his lips. Merlin was starting to run out of ideas on how to make life for his little guests as normal as possible.

"Hey! That's me that you're talking about!" Arthur said, draining the soup from his own nutshell.

Just then, the door to Gaius' chambers burst open.

"No, please, do come in!" Merlin snapped sarcastically to his dinner.

"Merlin, what was _that_?" Arthur fumed, coming to stand beside the table. He accidentally bumped it and Little Merlin fell over with a startled cry.

"That was the most entertaining council meeting yet, Arthur," Merlin replied matter-of-factly.

"You made a complete fool of everyone there!" Arthur wasn't letting up.

Merlin huffed and dropped his spoon in to his bowl. He turned himself on his stool, staring up at Arthur.

"The only person I made a fool of was myself, Arthur. It was completely harmless! They wanted to come and rather than letting them stay up here and possibly die in some way, I let them tag along."

This was the first time in a while that Merlin was seeing Arthur as well and truly mad. He got annoyed when his meals were late, and he got frustrated during fruitless hunts. But this… this was anger.

Behind him, Little Arthur had finally managed to right Little Merlin and was inspecting him for possible ailments.

"Harmless? Those council meetings allow Camelot to thrive. The running's of this city are not a joke, Merlin!" Arthur seethed.

Merlin slammed his hand on the table and stood up. This time both Little Merlin _and_ Little Arthur toppled over.

"A _joke_? You're implying that I'm making a _farce_ of Camelot? Do you realize what I have _sacrificed _to keep you alive and keep this castle standing? I had the small makings of a life, once, before you. But then the word _'destiny'_ was fatefully used and I refocused all of my strength in to fending off every _stinking_ person that got out of bed one day and decided they didn't like you."

"I never _asked_ you to do any of that!" Arthur argued back.

"No, you're right. But if I hadn't, you would have had a dagger in your heart! You could have been attacked by a snake, or mauled by a griffin, or lanced in the chest by an assassin. You could be on the bottom of a _lake_ right now, or prancing around the spirit world with all of the other lost souls doomed for eternity-"

"Alright, alright!" Arthur put up his hand. He looked pained.

"At first I bloody _hated_ you, but after a while you grew on me like a fungus and I fought to call you my friend. I didn't ask to be your court sorcerer. I didn't _ask_ to suddenly be placed in the middle of everything. Therefore, if I want to bring two small magical accidents to a council meeting, I should have the _right_!"

Arthur's expression was now completely unreadable. He stared at Merlin as the warlock poured out his heart, surrounded by the cluttered mess of the physician's chambers.

"Are you finished?" Arthur asked quietly.

Merlin looked away.

"Yeah."

Arthur turned on his heel and strolled out of the room as Merlin sagged back on to his stool. He turned to the table in time to see Little Arthur dipping his walnut shell in to Merlin's bowl of soup. The tiny replica froze and stared up at him, mid-dip. He was standing unsteadily on Little Merlin's shoulders, his pink tongue sticking out of his mouth.

"I… I didn't want to interrupt," he squeaked.

Merlin shook his head, unable to help the smile on his lips. He gently ruffled the familiar blond locks with his finger, causing Little Arthur to give him a cheeky grin.

"You're so much like him, it hurts."

When both little copies were happily seated on their corks with their second helping of now-lukewarm soup, did Merlin start to mull over his encounter with Arthur. Perhaps he overreacted a little. Perhaps _Arthur_ overreacted a little, too. Perhaps that was just a sample of what was bubbling up inside of him.

Merlin was tired. He was still young, and yet he felt weary, years at Arthur's side weighing heavily on his shoulders. The truth was that he cared deeply for Arthur, in ways he probably shouldn't. So much time spent as just 'Merlin and Arthur' had him thinking that was what it would always be. Merlin and Arthur. But now…

He had made Arthur king. He had opened the door for responsibilities and priorities. One of Merlin's truly darkest secrets was that he would take it all back for just one more day of waking Arthur up, bringing him his meals, and riding out on some sort of important quest. He wanted the feeling of being needed back.

Yeah. Selfish.

"That's not selfish at all," Little Merlin said sadly.

Merlin startled. "What?"

"About just wanting Arthur back."

"Do you read minds?" Merlin asked, astonished. Perhaps he had some sort of connection with this mini version of himself-

"You've been speaking out loud the entire time," Little Arthur piped up, wiping his lips on his gambeson.

"Oh…" That was slightly less extraordinary than a mental link.

"I'm not sure what you can do. I have _my_ Arthur," Little Merlin smiled warmly, and Little Arthur pecked him on the cheek in response. Merlin vaguely wondered if his own ears turned that red when he blushed.

He reached out and poked them both in the stomach affectionately.

"Yeah, you do. And that's enough for now."


End file.
